BOYS' SOCCER: Diman defends its way to a 1-1 draw with Durfee

Tuesday

Oct 3, 2017 at 8:37 PMOct 3, 2017 at 9:46 PM

Greg Sullivan Herald News Staff Reporter

FALL RIVER – Diman conceded time of possession, shots on goal, and the edge in territorial play. The Bengals dug in on defense, capitalized on their one good scoring chance, and forged a satisfying 1-1 boys' soccer draw with Durfee on Tuesday night at Mac Aldrich Field.

Diman (5-1-1) led briefly, on Dominic Rocha's head ball off a Dylan Moura corner kick in the seventh minute.

Durfee evened the count four minutes later when Jeff Cabral corralled Goncalo Roias' perfect angle cross from the right and knocked a left-footer back to the right corner.

And that was it for goals. Durfee keeper Zach Massa was largely a spectator the rest of the way. Durfee out-shot Diman 24-3 for the match, 14-0 in the second half.

But Diman's defense dug in, made few mistakes, and didn't waste time with the ball. The Hilltoppers (4-2-3) had a few high-quality scoring chances, but not a bundle.

"The key to the game is to just keep them off balance," Diman coach John Chicharro said. "They're a very, very good control team. Very fast. Very savvy. Very slick. And our game plan is just to keep them off balance, keep defending, and hopefully capitalize on a couple of opportunities we may get throughout.

"It's what we have to do to stay in the game."

Diman sophomore keeper Dylan Ferreira made a diving tip save of William Sobreiro's low hard shot early in the second half.

With about two minutes to play, junior Jonah Andrade, left open in the right center, bonked a hard shot off the outside of the right crossbar.

"They played well defending," Durfee coach Tiberio Melo said. "They came to our net one time and scored a goal. That's pretty much what happened here today. We dominated all play, but like I told my players, it doesn't matter how much you dominate, how much ball possession you have, if you can't put it in the net, things lie this (happen).

"I think they (Diman) knows we're the better team. We out-played them in every aspect of the game. Today it's one of those things we perfectly dominated the game and did enough to win, not only by one or two. Unfortunately the ball did not go in the net, Their goalie came up really big in a couple of saves that were guaranteed goals. Credit to him. And credit for them for defending well and just booting the ball out like they did."

Diman this year finishes its intra-city season series against Durfee with a win and a tie. This tie, though, is far more satisfying than the win. In an early-season game, the Hilltoppers out-scored Diman 4-0. Soon after, Durfee self-reported the use of an ineligible player, giving Diman a forfeit victory.